How females perceive masculine advertising models? : Master of Business Study in Marketing at Albany Campus, Massey University, New Zealand

This research helps to discover: (1) relevant masculinity types for male advertising models in China; (2) Chinese female consumers’ reaction to different masculinity types of male advertising models; (3) different characteristics of Chinese females that are relevant for reactions to different types of male advertising models in China. Based on a online survey with 384 female respondents in China, we found that Stern and Sophisticated masculinity type would be the most welcomed one among female’s view. Our results also show the importance of fashion leaders who hold totally different opinions with fashion followers. Moreover, we do not find the significant differences between different age groups, gender identity or living environment. But we confirm that fashion leaders tend to be younger, more masculinity urban female in our survey. These results should be an innovative field to the existing literature and provide implications for future male model studies. Keywords: Male masculinity types; Fashion Leadership; Stern and Sophisticated; Hofstede’s cultural dimensions; Metrosexuality

Validating the knowledge bank approach for personalized prediction of survival in acute myeloid leukemia: a reproducibility study

Reproducibility is not only essential for the integrity of scientific research but is also a prerequisite for model validation and refinement for the future application of predictive algorithms. However, reproducible research is becoming increasingly challenging, particularly in high-dimensional genomic data analyses with complex statistical or algorithmic techniques. Given that there are no mandatory requirements in most biomedical and statistical journals to provide the original data, analytical source code, or other relevant materials for publication, accessibility to these supplements naturally suggests a greater credibility of the published work. In this study, we performed a reproducibility assessment of the notable paper by Gerstung et al. (Nat Genet 49:332–340, 2017) by rerunning the analysis using their original code and data, which are publicly accessible. Despite an open science setting, it was challenging to reproduce the entire research project; reasons included: incomplete data and documentation, suboptimal code readability, coding errors, limited portability of intensive computing performed on a specific platform, and an R computing environment that could no longer be re-established. We learn that the availability of code and data does not guarantee transparency and reproducibility of a study; paradoxically, the source code is still liable to error and obsolescence, essentially due to methodological and computational complexity, a lack of reproducibility checking at submission, and updates for software and operating environment. The complex code may also hide problematic methodological aspects of the proposed research. Building on the experience gained, we discuss the best programming and software engineering practices that could have been employed to improve reproducibility, and propose practical criteria for the conduct and reporting of reproducibility studies for future researchers. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00439-022-02455-8

Intercultural learning through the outdoor experiential medium of sail-training

Living in an increasingly global world where people are expected to be interculturally competent makes the process of intercultural learning more important than ever before. Becoming interculturally competent is complex and there is no clear path to achieve this but it is anticipated that researching the process of intercultural learning will provide useful insights. In the field of intercultural learning, the application of an outdoor experiential approach has received limited attention. Moreover, very few attempts have been made to explore the intercultural educative value of sail-training experience. This research set out to examine the learning context and process of young people’s sail-training experience specifically focusing on contributions to intercultural learning. Experiential learning and interculturality theories provide a framework for exploring the way in which young people co-construct meanings from their experiences. Dewey’s (1916; 1938) and Kolb’s (1984, 2005) work helps to understand the dual importance of reflective orientation and active experimentation and experience in the process of experiential learning as well as illustrates features of an effective experiential learning space. Thirdspace scholars such as Bhabha (1994), Soja (1996), Kramsch (2009) introduce ‘thirdspace’ as a critical term in understanding intercultural interaction and experiences and forms a bridging point to understand experiential learning and interculturality in the same space. Socio-cultural experts’ concepts, including Holliday’s (2001) understanding of intersubjectivity, Hofstede’s (1991) onion metaphor, and Fang’s (2005, 2012) ocean metaphor provide analytical tools to interpret the intersubjective orientation and meaning construction process in experiential learning. A qualitative approach was used to collect evidence of participants’ intercultural learning during and after a sail-training voyage across the North Sea. Principal data collection involved interviewing 14 young people during and six months after the sail-training voyage. Secondary data were derived from focus groups, informal discussion, participant observation, participants’ sailing diaries, photographs and observations. Interview transcripts were interpreted using thematic analysis and member-checking was conducted for trustworthiness. The findings suggest that the special learning space of an intercultural experiential sailing voyage has a role to play in contributing to the learners’ intercultural engagement while the sail-training voyage is also a highly subjective and interactive experience. The principal outcomes are three identified elements of sail-training that potentially contribute to effective intercultural learning; the critical elements of understanding the self and the other in the process; and the process and relation based learning outcome. Participants revealed that the learning environment of sail-training has not only ‘forced’ them but also motivated them to interact and learn in the intercultural setting. The learning space and on board culture encouraged learners to go through a reflective learning process which contributed to cultivating their intercultural sensitivity and understanding, such as openness and humility. The findings of this thesis share similarities with the work of Allport (1954) and Wright (1994), both of whom put an emphasis on prejudice reduction in multicultural groups. Future research could evaluate the proposed model by applying it in a diversity of outdoor learning contexts and different sail-training voyages. Insights suggest sail-training practitioners and programme designers should be aware of the effective learning environment and potential approaches to nurture intercultural learning on board. This thesis makes original contributions to knowledge both methodogically and theoretically. The methodological approach to this thesis delivers (i) a qualitative study of intercultural learning through sail-training and (ii) an analysis of intercultural learning through sail-training that draws upon a unique synthesis of theory and evidence. Theoretically, the thesis establishes a model of intercultural experiential learning based on both cross-disciplinary theoretical exploration and empirical evidence collection and analysis

Inhibition of Murine Cytomegalovirus Infection in Animals by RNase P-Associated External Guide Sequences.

External guide sequence (EGS) RNAs are associated with ribonuclease P (RNase P), a tRNA processing enzyme, and represent promising agents for gene-targeting applications as they can direct RNase-P-mediated cleavage of a target mRNA. Using murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) as a model system, we examined the antiviral effects of an EGS variant, which was engineered using in vitro selection procedures. EGSs were used to target the shared mRNA region of MCMV capsid scaffolding protein (mCSP) and assemblin. In vitro, the EGS variant was 60 times more active in directing RNase P cleavage of the target mRNA than the EGS originating from a natural tRNA. In MCMV-infected cells, the variant reduced mCSP expression by 92% and inhibited viral growth by 8,000-fold. In MCMV-infected mice hydrodynamically transfected with EGS-expressing constructs, the EGS variant was more effective in reducing mCSP expression, decreasing viral production, and enhancing animal survival than the EGS originating from a natural tRNA. These results provide direct evidence that engineered EGS variants with higher targeting activity in vitro are also more effective in reducing gene expression in animals. Furthermore, our findings imply the possibility of engineering potent EGS variants for therapy of viral infections